One of the leading queens in the “sad indie girl” movement, Mitski has been making a name for herself for quite a while, first bursting out onto the indie scene in 2014 with her album Bury Me At Makeout Creek. I wasn’t too familiar with her back catalog before starting this review which is why I was surprised to find that this album has riffs for days, the hooks are solid, and Mitski was already making sure you knew she was a great singer and great writer. She followed this up in 2016 with Puberty 2, her debut on Dead Oceans (one of my favorite indie labels). The album is an improvement over Bury Me At Makeout Creek in my opinion. The production is a bit cleaner and the punk-influenced songs hit a little harder. The lead single Your Best American Girl is an incredible song if you need just one to check out from this album. Then in 2018 she dropped Be The Cowboy which is her most popular album thus far and made it to the top of 5 publications Albums of the Year lists with another 8 having it in their top 5. After listening to it for the first time since its release, I can still understand why. It’s a change in direction for Mitski but very much for the better. It’s very much a pop album full of solid piano leads, strings, horns all over. This album also has a lot of grooves and danceable moments, the song Nobody that blew up on TikTok recently might as well be a disco song with the shimmering guitar chords, funky drums, it’s definitely a song that deserved to blow up in this way.
And with all of the acclaim this album got, it was quickly met with some turmoil. In September 2019 at a show in New York’s Central Park, Mitski told the crowd that the show she was playing would be her last ever. She would later say that her intention afterward was to quit and start an entirely different life as the fame, success, and fanfare of Be The Cowboy caught up to her way too quickly. However, a few weeks after this announcement, she was reminded that she still owed Dead Oceans one more album and 3 years later, we have Laurel Hell.
And this is where I need to set the record straight on something real quick, it’s just honesty. No, this album is not better than Be The Cowboy, but I didn’t expect this to be better than that album anyways. That being said, however, it’s not like this album is a complete nosedive in quality after Be The Cowboy, Laurel Hell does give it a solid run for its money. I think this album is a bit softer at times and it definitely has more pop-oriented production but it’ll still catch you off guard if you’re not suspecting it.
Similar to Be The Cowboy though, this album truly shines in its variety. The songs The Only Heartbreaker and Stay Soft both have solid dance beats pumping behind them. Stay Soft to me sounds like somewhere between a song that would’ve been on the last Japanese Breakfast album and the last Bleachers album. The drums really remind me of something Jack Antonoff would have his hand in. The Only Heartbreaker, on the other hand, is a bit more uptempo and feels more like something you’d hear from The Killers or The War on Drugs. I also love the lyrics on the song with Mitski singing about how she doesn’t feel like enough for this lover she’s interested in, singing:
If you would just make one mistake
What a relief that would be
But I think for as long as we’re together
I’ll be the only heartbreaker
The song Love Me More is another major highlight in the tracklist for me as far as the upbeat and pop-oriented songs go. This song is an absolute banger with an explosive chorus. I love all of the layers of synths that build up and eventually give way to some super cinematic pianos before the second verse. And before I keep going, I have to point out the big comeback single, Working for the Knife.
I think this song was the perfect way to kick off this album cycle and I’m almost surprised at the mixed reaction this got from fans and critics alike upon its release. Lyrically I think this is one of the best songs on the album with “the knife” taking different meanings throughout the song. In the first and third verses, the knife is Mitski’s struggles with inspiration, mental health, and burnout. In the fourth verse, however, the knife is her realizing that she’s aging in this strange industry and she’s not sure if she’s accepting of it or not. Instrumentally I love this song as well, some of the percussion and instruments that are used remind me of something you’d hear on Fiona Apple’s last album.
The hits keep coming on this album, I love the 80s piano rock vibes of Should’ve Been Me. It feels super cinematic at times, almost like something that could be in a Disney movie. I also really love the fuzzy guitar solo right in the middle of the song. I don’t anticipate seeing Mitski live anytime soon but I would imagine this would be fantastic live. The closing song That’s Our Lamp is another fun song, well instrumentally at least. Mitski sings on the song:
We fought again
I ran out the apartment
You say you love me
I believe you do
But I walk down and up and down
And up and down this street
‘Cause you just don’t like me
I think this song does a solid job of closing the album out but I can’t help but complain about how the album just sort of fades out when it feels like it’s about to reach a big crescendo to end off.
While I do like a lot of this album, I can’t say it’s flawless. Why lyrically, some of the slower songs are fantastic, I can’t lie and say the lyrics carry the songs entirely. For example, the song I Guess is a dud in my opinion. The pianos echoing off into the distance for the entire runtime don’t make Mitski’s lyrics about moving on after this relationship ended any more compelling. I’m also not crazy over the opener Valentine, Texas (which is actually a real city) but for an entirely different reason. I think it tries to be super grand and pull the rug out from under you to open the album but I don’t love how the wall of synths just punches you in the face after the song is quiet and soft for the majority of its runtime.
All in all, though, I think this is a really solid album. While I do somewhat miss the days of Mitski rocking out over layers of distorted guitars I am not at all upset about the progression she’s been making. Don’t be afraid of that comment either. While they may not be guitar-based, there are songs on here that truly do rock. While, again, I don’t think this is better than Be The Cowboy was it’s still a great album. If you enjoyed Be The Cowboy to any extent or just want some great indie bangers that’ll make you cry while you dance, give this album a listen, I don’t think it’ll dissapoint you.
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